diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/Driver/AttributeReader.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/Driver/AttributeReader.php
index 42b4cbaf85c..cc344bd0970 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/Driver/AttributeReader.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/Driver/AttributeReader.php
@@ -69,8 +69,7 @@ public function getPropertyAttribute(ReflectionProperty $property, $attributeNam
             ));
         }
 
-        return $this->getPropertyAttributes($property)[$attributeName]
-            ?? ($this->isRepeatable($attributeName) ? new RepeatableAttributeCollection() : null);
+        return $this->getPropertyAttributes($property)[$attributeName] ?? null;
     }
 
     /**